almost as much as the second. They were becoming a bit formulaic with the Thin Man scripts by this point, but I do not mind that if the formula works, and it does here. I can understand some people not liking something as much if they see it as formulaic, though.
http://www.rateyourmusic.com/~JrnlofEddieDeezenStudies
No, I agree, this one is still witty and smart. The addition of the baby is good too.
Also, there is another one with Nicky Jr aabout 4. the scene about Daddy drinking milk is just priceless.
Wasn't Myrna Loy just the best at this kind of thing?
Were the 30s really that prosperous? What did a great big house cost, I wonder?
With the country in deep trouble, if you weren't wiped out in the stock market and were still rich you were on easy street. Everything cost a trifle and you could get servants for a song. The only real downer for the idle rich was income tax but there were ways around that, playing losses against gains. The rich were in a great position to buy up properties, for instance, at fire sale prices and do amazingly well when WWII industries brought prosperity to the nation. If you weren't the IDLE rich you might have done very well on illegal activities, when the rich mingled liberally with gangsters. If you were a factory owner you were one worried businessperson trying to deal with a sudden avalanche of red tape and the uncertainty of shifting regulations and govt policies that FDR's administration tried over the years to no avail. Some of the formerly wealthy faked it. There were people who would hire them to add glamor and style, as shown this week on History Detectives with the circus theme fundraising party. Some left the country for the duration of the Depression and many sold off their excess homes and toys.
Donald Trump's going through multiple bankruptcies and keeping up appearances the whole time would give a good idea of what the rich might have done in the Depression. One should also keep in mind that anyone who had been rich since the Gilded Age in the late 1800s had already weathered the Panic of 1893. As Trump and others would say, the first million is the hardest. Once you have the connections, reputation, and experience you can do it again and again and again.
Across the first three films, my sense is that as the content increases (in terms of the plots and number of characters), some of the style has been sacrificed. There are too many scenes where Nora is either absent just standing around like a spare part. And their interplay lacks the original panache. Maybe it's just a typical marriage in that regard.
shareI agree that this movie has too many characters. It is really hard to keep them all straight. The result is too much of a mad jumble.
shareThe mysteries are only an excuse to interact with Nick and Nora and Asta. They don't have to be all that plausible or even make sense.
Too many characters was standard really up until maybe Columbo TV series. Where you know the killer, as does the hero, but can't prove it 'til the end.
take the 2nd Thin Man film. If you pay attention, the killer is pretty obvious even half way through.
The final gathering of the suspects all looking sheepish and guilty was so over used in the genre it became cliche.
"Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government."
-Dennis